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"I hope they have apple fritters," my wife told me as we went into the donut shop. Hope. It's a good thing. Merriam-Webster says it is "to want something to happen or be true." You might hope for a promotion or hope for a particular gift at Christmas or hope that someone says something nice to you or hope that you do well in the interview or test or whatever. It's a positive thing.

In our language, it's also sometimes a desperate thing. We hope that laws can be passed that will decrease gun violence. We hope that our least favorite candidate for office doesn't get elected. We even have a term: "hope against hope." It is intended to convey a desperate hope, a hope that is highly unlikely to actually be fulfilled.

I was curious where that phrase came from, so I looked it up. Surprise, surprise, it comes from the Bible. Writing about Abraham, Paul said, "In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, 'So shall your offspring be'" (Romans 4:18). Well, now, that's interesting. "Hope against hope" was a description of Abraham. Indeed, it was a description of Abraham's faith.

What does it mean? Abraham was without hope. That is, all reason indicated that this old man could have no offspring. His hope was minimal at best. What could he "want to be true"? Well, that he'd have an heir, of course, but that was a forlorn hope. And yet, against that hope, Abraham hoped. On what did Abraham base that hope? He based it on God's promise. Weighing in one hand "the hope that experience gives" and in the other "the hope of God's promise," Abraham hoped in one -- God's promise -- against the other. Thus, the original "hope against hope" was not a desperation, but a certainty.

Biblical hope, then, is something a bit different than our standard version. The hope of the "faith, hope, and love" that abides (1 Corinthians 13:13) is not the normal human hope. Human hope is "I hope (cross my fingers and pray)" and biblical hope is a confident expectation of something not yet present (Romans 8:24-25). An extension of faith. (Remember, "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1).) Our hope in the promises of God isn't a "hope against hope" in our usual sense, but a confidence in God's faithfulness and the cheerful anticipation of the fulfillment of that hope. For us, hope is critical ... and entirely rational when placed on the God who provides.

"Word from Scotland" from Sandy Shaw

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